Correctional departments that are responsible for hosting incarcerated inmates are continually developing methods and activities to rehabilitate the inmates before their release back into society. One activity thought to aid in that transition is communication with friends and family outside the correctional facility. By allowing inmates to have contact with friends and family while incarcerated, the justice system hopes to maintain friendships and family relationships with people who will facilitate the inmate's transition back into society upon release.
Traditional forms of contact include letter writing, telephone calls, in-person visitation, etc. Technology now allows jails and prisons to provide other types of visitation, including video conferences (e.g., a scheduled video visitation, an unscheduled video call, and online chat sessions) between inmates and their friends and family who are outside the correctional facility. These video conferences allow friends and family to visit the inmate without having to travel to the correctional facility and/or without having to move the inmate to a visitation room in the facility.